The Happiest of Valleys

Mid-way through the second quarter, at the request of Head Coach Keegan-Michael Key (wink, wink), the Nittany Lions unleashed their secret weapon on an otherwise vanilla day – offensively speaking. The departure of King ‘Quon left a gaping hole in the backfield this spring but with one sweep to the left, Brooke Fisher set all our minds at ease as she juked, jived, and left would-be tacklers shaking in their black Nikes. To the end-zone Brook went and the rest was history. The run was so epic, even James Franklin could not contain himself as he ran onto the field to join the celebration with our newfound star.

Yes, friends, it was that kind of day as Penn State Football wrapped up Spring Practice with a whole lot of fun and tugged at our hearts in the process. For the record, Blue beat White 21-10 but this one will be fondly remembered for all the shenanigans throughout. Special Olympian Brooke Fisher gets the game ball, and rightfully so, but redshirt freshman Mac Hippenhammer came in a close second as he pulled double-duty and hauled in TD’s for both squads; one from Trace McSorley in blue and one from Jake Zembiec for the white. Senior jitterbug Mark Allen collected a touchdown in his final Blue-White game and Carson Landis added a 35-yard field goal to complete the scoring.

But again, this was not about who scored what, aside from Miss Fisher’s run. This was a Blue and White family reunion in the happiest of valleys on a sun-shiny day! 71k was the official estimate but I can guarantee you there were another 30k out and about at their respective tailgates during the scrimmage. At FrankLion’s first official foray with Nittany Nation back in 2014, the only gimmick was the grey jerseys the O-Line wore but that was because there weren’t enough ‘Big Handsomes’ along the O-Line to man a second-team. Five years later, that O-Line has been re-stocked, and we recognized our 2017 Fiesta Bowl Champs at halftime. Much has changed since those early days of the FrankLion era, and it’s all been positive.

Up next on our agenda, SuperQuon and the Mighty Lions take center stage at the NFL Draft before the real off-season truly begins. As of today, there are 131 days until we all meet again to take on Appalachian State and Happy Valley is awash in Blue and White once again. What you saw on Saturday may have been just the ‘vanilla’ version of Penn State on the field but as a whole, the happiest of valleys was on full display for all to see!

Eric Herrold was born in State College and has bled Penn State Blue and White ever since. He is currently the proud owner/coordinator of the rapidly growing Facebook fanpage Nittany Nation, as well as a member of Success With Honor, the non-profit charitable organization. Eric currently resides in Richmond, Virginia spreading Penn State cheer and goodwill to all that will listen!

1 Comment

Angi
on April 25, 2018 at 12:46 pm

This moment was truly special. The excitement on Brooke’s face was priceless. The excitement on the faces of the Coaching Staff and the celebration with the players in the end zone can not be beat! Just when I thought I couldn’t love this team more than I currently do…. WE ARE…!